House Armed Services chairman blasts Obama for military pay cut

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee blasted President Obama Thursday evening for undercutting members of the military by suggesting a 1.6 percent annual pay raise, which falls below the 2.1 percent figure mandated by law.

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, said federal workers and the military have historically received 2 to 3 percent raises, but the Obama administration has cut those annual bumps in recent years.

"Few people are more deserving of a full pay raise than our men and women in uniform," Thornberry said. "Yet, at the same time President Obama is proposing significant increases in military deployments and expanding existing missions, he is cutting the pay raise for our troops for the fourth year in a row."

Thornberry pointed at the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2017, which mandates the 2.1 percent increase and would block the president's ability to reduce troop pay in the future.

He said that giving military individuals and families only a 1.6 percent bump would hurt them in the long haul.